Lothair of France

Lothair of France (941-2 March 986) was King of France from 10 September 954 to 2 March 986, succeeding Louis IV of France and preceding Louis V of France.

Biography
Lothair was born in 941 in Laon, the eldest son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony. On 12 November 954, he was crowned King of West Francia at the Abbey of Saint-Remi by Artald of Reims following his father's death on 10 September, and he inherited a kingdom where great magnates ruled much of West Francia. Hugh the Great of the House of Capet was Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris, and he was made a viceroy of Burgundy and Aquitaine. In 955, Lothair and Hugh the Great took Poitiers by siege, and on Hugh's death in 956 he gave Burgundy to his son Otto and Paris to his son Hugh. Lothair invaded Flanders on the death of Arnulf I of Flanders in 965, but Arnulf II of Flanders defeated him; Lothair briefly held Arras and Douai despite his defeat.

Wars with Germany
With this venture defeated, he decided to increase his efforts to expand his influence in Lotharingia, leading to Otto II of Germany supporting efforts against Lothair's overtures. In July 978, Otto held the imperial diet at Dortmund to declare war on Lothair after placing his younger brother Charles as the ruler of the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, vassalizing Charles and slapping Lothair in the face. Lothair sacked Aachen in August, forcing the royal family to flee, but in September 978 the German army of Otto II and Charles invaded France, ravaging Soissons, Laon, and Reims. Lothair had to hold out against an imperial siege on Paris until disease and the arrival of Hugh Capet's army forced the Germans to retreat, and their army was chased back to Aachen; in 980, Lothair renounced his claims to Lorraine in exchange for Otto II recognizing the succession of his son Louis V of France to the throne when he died. In 983, Lothair attempted to recover Lotharingia from Otto III of Germany after Otto II's death, but Henry II of Bavaria defeated this venture. Lothair would eventually lose real power to Hugh Capet, the hero of the siege of Paris, and he was considered to be king in name only. On his death in 986, his feeble son Louis succeeded him, and his death a year later would lead to the rise of the House of Capet in France and the fall of the House of Karling.